Marines are known for leadership, and that reputation is no accident. The Marine Corps teaches leadership deliberately, starting on the first days of recruit training and continuing through a Marine’s entire career. At the heart of that teaching are two short lists every Marine learns: the 11 leadership principles and the 14 leadership traits. If your son or daughter is heading to boot camp, these are words they will hear, memorize, and be expected to live by.
Quick Facts
- Leadership principles: 11 guidelines that describe what a good leader does.
- Leadership traits: 14 qualities that describe who a good leader is.
- Memory aid: The traits are remembered with the acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE.
- Two objectives: Marine leadership aims at accomplishing the mission and caring for the welfare of Marines.
- Who learns them: Every Marine, beginning in recruit training or officer training.
Why the Marine Corps Spells Out Leadership
In the Marine Corps, almost everyone becomes a leader sooner or later. A young lance corporal may be responsible for a few Marines, and a corporal can lead a fire team in difficult conditions. Because leadership responsibility arrives early, the Corps does not leave it to chance. The principles and traits give every Marine a shared language and a clear standard, whether they are leading two people or two thousand.
Marine leadership has two basic objectives: accomplishing the mission and looking after the welfare of the Marines who carry it out. The principles and traits are tools for meeting both at the same time.
The 11 Marine Corps Leadership Principles
The wording can vary slightly between Marine Corps manuals, but the principles are consistent in meaning:
- Know yourself and seek self-improvement. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and keep working to get better.
- Be technically and tactically proficient. Master your job and the skills your Marines rely on.
- Know your Marines and look out for their welfare. Learn who your people are and take care of them.
- Keep your Marines informed. People perform better when they understand what is happening and why.
- Set the example. Never ask others to meet a standard you will not meet yourself.
- Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished. Give clear direction, check on progress, and follow through.
- Train your Marines as a team. Build units that trust each other and work together.
- Make sound and timely decisions. Decide carefully, but do not wait so long that the chance to act is lost.
- Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates. Give junior Marines real responsibility so they grow into leaders.
- Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities. Know what your team can do and assign tasks it can accomplish.
- Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Step up when it matters and own the results, good or bad.
Notice how practical these are. None of them depend on rank. A private first class can set the example, keep a buddy informed, and take responsibility for mistakes just as surely as a general can.
The 14 Leadership Traits: JJ DID TIE BUCKLE
Where the principles describe what a leader does, the traits describe the character behind those actions. Recruits commit them to memory using the acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE:
- Justice: Being fair and consistent with everyone.
- Judgment: Weighing facts and choices to make good decisions.
- Dependability: Being someone others can count on.
- Initiative: Acting without waiting to be told.
- Decisiveness: Making decisions promptly and clearly.
- Tact: Dealing with people respectfully and without causing needless offense.
- Integrity: Being honest and doing the right thing.
- Enthusiasm: Showing genuine interest and energy in the work.
- Bearing: Carrying yourself with confidence and self-control.
- Unselfishness: Putting the needs of others ahead of your own comfort.
- Courage: Facing fear and danger, physical or moral.
- Knowledge: Knowing your job and continuing to learn.
- Loyalty: Being faithful to the nation, the Corps, your unit, and your fellow Marines.
- Endurance: Having the mental and physical stamina to keep going.
How Principles and Traits Work Together
The two lists support each other. A leader who has integrity and courage will find it natural to take responsibility for their actions. A leader with judgment and decisiveness is ready to make sound and timely decisions. Unselfishness goes hand in hand with looking out for the welfare of your Marines. Together they form a picture of the kind of person the Corps wants in charge: competent, honest, and focused on the team.
What This Means for Your Recruit
Your recruit will study the leadership principles and traits during recruit training and will be expected to know them. They may come up in classes, knowledge tests, and conversations with drill instructors. More importantly, recruits see them in action, since drill instructors are some of the clearest examples of setting the example that a young person will ever meet.
Many families notice the difference when their Marine comes home. They stand a little straighter, follow through on what they say, and take ownership instead of making excuses. Those changes grow directly out of these lists. If you want to connect with your recruit through letters, try asking which trait they think matters most, or mention one you see in them already. It is a simple way to show you understand what they are working toward.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many leadership principles does the Marine Corps have?
There are 11 Marine Corps leadership principles. They describe the actions a good leader takes, from knowing yourself to seeking and taking responsibility.
What does JJ DID TIE BUCKLE stand for?
It is a memory aid for the 14 leadership traits: justice, judgment, dependability, initiative, decisiveness, tact, integrity, enthusiasm, bearing, unselfishness, courage, knowledge, loyalty, and endurance.
Do recruits have to memorize the leadership principles and traits?
Recruits are taught both lists during boot camp and are expected to know them. They are part of the knowledge every Marine carries throughout their career.
What is the difference between a principle and a trait?
Principles describe what a leader does, such as keeping Marines informed. Traits describe the qualities a leader has, such as integrity or loyalty. The traits supply the character, and the principles put that character into action.